Commercial performance

"Don't Let Go (Love)" became the third En Vogue track to peak at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 where it was the group's fifth and final Top Ten hit. It was blocked from the top spot by Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart". The song was a #1 R&B song for one week becoming En Vogue's sixth and final #1 R&B Hit. It reached #5 in the UK in early 1997 and spent 13 weeks in the UK top 40, eight of them in the top ten. The single re-entered the UK chart at number 23 in 2011 after the girl group Little Mix performed the song on the eighth series of the British television talent contest, The X Factor, on November 19, 2011. The En Vogue track reached #23 on the UK chart and also returned to the Irish charts at #50. In 1997, "Don't Let Go (Love)" went to number one on the Norwegian top 20 singles chart (VG-Lista Topp 20) and stayed there for six consecutive weeks. In total, it was in the top 20 for 16 weeks.

The single sold 1.3 million copies in the United States and was certified platinum by the RIAA.[2][3][4] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 127 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[5] The song was used in the 1996 movie Set It Off.

Unlike the film Set It Off, which was set in Los Angeles, California, the clip is set in New York City. It shows all four band members singing in front of an audience in black outfits while some clips of the movie are inserted. A second video was released using the same footage of En Vogue singing in front of an audience, but the scenes from Set It Off are replaced with images that followed a new storyline. In this version, Mekhi Phifer plays a man who has been secretly dating all four members of En Vogue. The four women find out about each other and confront Phifer's character through their performance at a party.[6]

Cover versions

The song was sampled in the 2009 recording, also titled "Don't Let Go", by the British hip-hop artist Professor Green.

The Korean girl group Bella covered this song in the Korean language as their first single in 2011.

On November 19, 2011, girl group contestants Little Mix performed the song on the eighth series of the British television talent contest The X Factor, leading to En Vogue's version re-entering the UK chart at number 23. In the final, Little Mix performed the song for a second time and they won the show on 11 December. The song is a bonus track on the group's winner's single, "Cannonball". Following the group's win and their single, the song re-entered the charts again a few weeks later at number 27. On January 25, 2012, they performed the song at The National Television Awards.

On June 15, 2013, the contestant Cleo Higgins performed the song on the second season of British television talent contest The Voice.

The Australian singer Greg Gould released an acoustic version of the song on his EP Don't Let Go on February 10, 2017. In June 2017, he released a duet version of the song, with newly recorded vocals from the original En Vogue member Maxine Jones.

The house music producer James Hype released a house cover of the song titled "More Than Friends", with vocals by the south London artist Kelli-Leigh. "More Than Friends" reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart in August 2017.

On the March 20, 2018, episode of reality television singing competition show The Voice, Team Alicia (Keys) contestants Jordyn Simone and Kelsea Johnson performed an arrangement of the song in a Battle round.